Colombia Travel Advice For Visitors

,Colombia travel advice seekers should be prepared for a sensory assault that will entice and thrill visitors. Columbia has a great deal of diverse attractions and activities, with two coasts facing the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It has everything from deserts to glaciers, steaming rainforests, secluded islands, pristine beaches and modern cities.

It's easiest for visitors from North America, Europe and other parts of the world to just fly into Bogota, the country's capital. Itinerary permitting, some visitors can fly on to destinations such as San Andres, Cali and Cartagena. The country can also be entered by road from Ecuador and Venezuela, while others may prefer to cross over from Panama by boat.

Safety-wise, visitors don't have all that much to worry these days. Metropolitan zones are about the same as any other city in Central & South America. Visitors should take standard precautions such as avoiding a tough neighborhood after dark and not heading off solo into isolated regions.

What visitors will enjoy the most is the sheer range of different types of destinations and all the natural beauty. Cali's famous Salsa clubs compete for attention with Bogota's flesh pots and Barranquilla's Carnival. A visitor could easily spend many days or even weeks getting to know these cities, and then still have the rainforest, the Pacific Coast's humpback whales, and the Caribbean coast's coral reefs and pristine beaches on islands such as Santa Catalina, Providencia and San Andres.

In fact, scuba diving in these reefs is one of the top attractions for visitors from every corner of the world. In addition to the aforementioned Caribbean islands, there are dive spots just as good on the Pacific coast too. Let's take a look at which destinations on both coasts are good for visitors where scuba diving can be combined with a holiday and sight-seeing.

On the Caribbean coast, the top choices are the islands of Providencia and San Andres. Off the Pacific coast, the most popular choices are Malpelo Island and Isla Gorgona. The choice essentially depends on the visitor's diving skills, adventurous spirit and willingness to travel.

So for example, a visitor planning to head out to San Andres can reach it directly by air even though it is 700 km away from the mainland. Another plus point here is that since the coral reef is really long, tourists and divers can enjoy the dive spots and attractions of Providencia & Santa Catalina along with San Andres. The biggest attraction is, of course, the famous 'sea of seven colors' which is a good indicator of the diversity of marine life here.

A visit to Isla Gorgona or Malpelo Island on the Pacific Coast is a bit of an adventure. It involves a flight from Cali to Guapi and then onwards by boat to the islands. The water is cold and clear for divers, and so are the beady eyes of the hammerheads and whale sharks. Isla Gorgona is a very touristy place too, being a former Alcatraz style prison that now offers beaches, nature and whale watching tours.

To end this healthy dose of Colombia travel advice on a general note, visitors are advised to consider longer stays. It's not possible to drive-thru or jump from one airport to another over a quick weekend. Every destination has to be considered as a mini vacation by itself that needs to be explored and enjoyed at its own sweet pace.